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Posted: December 18, 2009

Nanostart Invests in Singapore Medical Technology Company BioMers

(Nanowerk News) Nanostart AG has taken a significant ownership position in BioMers Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based medical technology company with a branch office in the U.S. The company is developing innovative new solutions for various biomedical applications with its technology.

BioMers has developed the world's only completely translucent braces system for orthodontic treatment. The product is set to fundamentally transform the multi-billion-dollar global market for orthodontic devices. The company also has an exciting pipeline of future products for other medical and dental applications.

BioMers is a spin-off from the renowned National University of Singapore (NUS), where the technology was invented. The technology makes use of advanced nanomaterials and fibre-reinforced polymer composite techniques to create translucent arch wires that are just as competent as metal wires.

An initial and extraordinarily promising application for this innovative product is the rapidly growing market for orthodontic braces. BioMers is the world’s only provider of orthodontic solutions that can produce aesthetic-looking arch wires.

Aesthetic brackets have been available for more than 10 years. However, until now, only metal has had the mechanical properties needed for the arch wires which run along the middle of the brackets. Using nanotechnology, BioMers is able for the first time to produce translucent and thus cosmetically acceptable braces and retainers (worn by patients following treatment with braces), a competitive advantage which offers BioMers the potential to be the number-one choice in the orthodontics market.

The global market for orthodontic braces (arch wires and brackets) and retainers is currently estimated at some USD 2.4 billion annually. Over the past nine years, the U.S. market for orthodontics has grown at an annual rate of approx. 7.5 percent per year, while various regions in Asia have seen orthodontics grow at double-digit rates.

The company has already received regulatory approval for its orthodontic products in the United States, the European Union and Japan. The capital invested by Nanostart will be primarily used to strengthen sales and marketing resources and to further expand the already existing network of some 40 international distribution partners.

Andreas Kröll, managing director of Nanostart Asia, remarked that “BioMers has developed, with the help of its leading-edge nanotechnology, a superb product with uniquely innovative characteristics. With the growth in demand for more aesthetically pleasing solutions, the company stands to revolutionize the global market for orthodontic devices, a market which has seen relatively little innovation in recent decades. This promises to deliver high returns.”

Dr. Mervyn Fathianathan, Managing Director of BioMers, added: “We are extremely pleased about bringing on board an investor like Nanostart with its uniquely successful track record in nanotechnology investments. Its international network and business experience will be of enormous help in the further development and growth of our company.”

Nanostart has taken the position of Lead Investor in this new addition to its investment portfolio by way of its Nanostart Singapore Early Stage Venture Fund I. The fund now owns about 16 percent of Biomers.

About Nanostart

Nanostart AG is the world’s leading nanotechnology investment company. The Frankfurt-based company provides venture capital financing for nanotechnology companies in various growth phases. It also provides the benefits of its experience and expertise to developers of financial instruments and to investors in the nanotechnology sector.